Not Applicable
The present invention relates to a combined wall mount and electrical outlet box unit.
By way of background, in the past wall mounts having the general outer configuration shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings were supplied with a solid front wall having score marks thereon. In use, the installer had to cut out an opening in the shape of the perimeter of the electrical outlet box from the front wall. However, this was a time-consuming and tedious task because the wall mounts were fabricated of tough polyethylene plastic or metal. Thereafter, a separate conventional electric outlet box was slid into the opening which was cut out in the wall mount. This outlet box was of conventional shape, and, as noted above, it had an outer perimeter which was the size of the opening which was cut into the face of the wall mount. There were no connections between the wall mount and the electrical outlet box other than the contact therebetween at the cutout portion in the face of the wall mount.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a combined wall mount and electrical outlet box unit wherein the electrical outlet box is an integral portion of the wall mount, thereby obviating the necessity to cut the front wall of the wall mount for receiving an electrical outlet unit box.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a combined wall mount and electrical outlet box unit wherein the electrical outlet box portion is much larger than the separate outlet box which was previously installed into the separate wall mount.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved one-piece wall mount and electrical outlet box unit wherein the electrical outlet box portion is firmly secured to the wall mount because it is an integral molded part thereof.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a combined wall mount and electrical outlet box unit which has a rear wall which is flush with the mounting flange thereof and which serves as an enclosing portion of the electrical outlet box.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved one-piece wall mount and electrical outlet box which has a preformed rectangular opening in its front wall and arcuate score marks on opposite sides of the rectangular opening to permit the rectangular opening to be selectively converted to a substantially circular opening.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece wall mount and electrical outlet box having a preformed opening in its front wall and an opening in its rear wall which is centered relative to the preformed opening for receiving electrical wires. Other objects and attendant advantages of the present invention will readily be perceived hereafter.
The present invention relates to a plastic electrical wall mount unit for mounting on a surface comprising a housing, a plurality of side walls on said housing, inner and outer sides on said side walls, inner and outer edges on said side walls, a front wall integral with said side walls proximate said outer edges of said side walls and extending inwardly therefrom toward other of said side walls, a flange integral with said side walls proximate said inner edges of said side walls and extending outwardly away from said outer sides of said side walls, a preformed opening in said front wall, and arcuate score marks on said front wall on opposite sides of said preformed opening.
The various aspects of the present invention will be more fully understood when the following portions of the specification are read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: